Our philosophy:

Technology

At all class levels, technology is a key component. The Holy Family Catholic Schools mission for technology is to provide an integrated, evolving tool and resource that facilitates thinking, creativity, communications and problem solving for all students, faculty and staff. The purpose of technology in our schools and classrooms is not to teach students how to use computers, but to use technology to enhance the teaching of core curriculum. Holy Family Catholic Schools has adopted the National Education Technology Standards for Students (NET-S), which challenges schools to move beyond teaching hardware and software. Using NET-S standards as a guide, Holy Family has set the goal of moving away from lab-based technology instruction to classroom integration of technology through one-to-one computing, laptop carts, tablets and interactive white boards.

Our student to technology ratio is better than 2:1 throughout the system.

Foreign Language

• Elementary: At the elementary level (grades K–5), the Our Lady of Guadalupe Spanish Immersion School offers students the opportunity to master a second language by implementing a full-immersion philosophy.
• Middle School: Students in grades 6–8 at Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School receive one trimester of Spanish instruction each year, which is intended as an introduction to foreign language. For students who attended Our Lady of Guadalupe or demonstrate proficiency in the Spanish language, Religion and Social Studies are taught in an immersion setting, in addition to Advanced Spanish.
• High School: Spanish instruction at the 9-12 level is offered in three paths, each offering students the ability to take 4 years of high school Spanish. In addition to Spanish instruction, four years of French instruction is also be offered.

Special Needs

Holy Family Catholic Schools utilizes the problem-solving process to identify strategies to assist students with special learning needs to be successful. The goal of the problem-solving approach is to work together with parents to identify interventions that help the student do better. An example of an intervention would be changing the materials the student uses to learn information. During the problem-solving process, school personnel, including special education staff and Keystone AEA special education personnel, may be involved in gathering information that will be used to develop effective interventions.

Talented and Gifted

We believe that all students are talented and all students have gifts. Our goal is to develop the gifts and talents of all students. “Gifted” is a specific education term that applies to a small percentage of students who show exceptional aptitude, meaning they exhibit an ability to grasp concepts that have not yet been formally taught. Using the GATE program, which documents and facilitates program modifications for students identified as having exceptional aptitude, modifications are made within the regular educational setting, rather than pulling students from class.

Accreditation

Holy Family Catholic Schools is accredited by the Iowa Department of education and the Archdiocese of Dubuque.